New products from market researchA Kellogg's case study

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Page 5: Information gathering - development to launch

Stage 3: Crafting the idea into a complete new product

Once the best idea had been selected from stage 2, Kellogg's needed to make this idea become a real product. The Crunchy Nut Bites food prototype recipe was refined using the feedback from another qualitative and quantitative survey.

The qualitative research helped Kellogg's food technologists to explore the taste and texture of the new food idea in more detail. Kellogg's needed to understand the 'eating experience' of the consumer before a decision could be made about how to develop the recipe in more detail.

Following this stage, four product recipes were developed and these prototypes were then tested with representative groups of consumers in a quantitative survey to see which product consumers preferred. This enabled Kellogg's to select the best one.

Also, at this stage, the pack design for the new Crunchy Nut Bites was developed. Several designs were developed aimed at giving the new product the same look and feel as the rest of the Crunchy Nut family. The packaging designs were tested with consumers, which enabled Kellogg”s to select the final packaging design for Crunchy Nut Bites.

Stage 4: Forecasting sales for the new Crunchy Nut Bites

At Kellogg's, every product has to undergo one final test prior to a new product launch. This is called the 'In Home Usage Test'. The consumers are given the product to try for several days and this enables Kellogg's to capture how consumers interact with the product for the first time.

At the end of the trial, consumers complete a report on what they thought of the food in the form of a questionnaire. This final survey measures how appealing the new product is to consumers and how likely they would be to buy it in real life.

The data collected also helped to calculate a sales forecast for the new product for the first and second year in market. The forecast was used by the finance department to set budgets, organise the supply chain and to schedule food production.

Once the data was analysed and the product concept tested, Kellogg's was able to make the strategic decision to go ahead with the new product. Production could then take place.